Suspect in North Carolina Army veteran's death arrested in Miami

Police say Jameel Davidson arrested Wednesday evening in Miami

MIAMI – A man wanted in the death of an 86-year-old Army veteran in North Carolina earlier this month has been arrested in Miami.

Jameel Davidson, 21, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is charged in connection with the killing of Gerald Gillespie on Jan. 18.

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Fayetteville police said Davidson was arrested Wednesday evening by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Barry Golden, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in South Florida, said police notified them that Davidson took a Greyhound bus from Fayetteville to Miami. Golden said authorities boarded the bus when it arrived at the Greyhound station in Miami and took him into custody without incident.

Davidson, who was Gillespie's neighbor, is also charged with armed robbery.

Fayetteville police Lt. Todd Joyce said Davidson is being held in Miami pending an extradition hearing to return to North Carolina.

Gillespie served 22 years in the U.S. Army. He was with the 82nd Airborne Division's 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team in 1953 and the 5th Special Forces unit during a tour in Vietnam.

Gillespie's daughter-in-law found his body Jan. 18.

Davidson was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.


About the Authors:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.